1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to internal combustion engines. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus for supercharging internal combustion engines.
2. Related Art
Superchargers have become popular in recent years as an addition to internal combustion engines as a result of cost efficiency, reliability, and performance. A supercharger is basically a compressor that creates “boost” by forcing more air into the cylinders of the engine than would naturally be drawn in during the engine's intake stroke. By way of background, “boost,” which is typically measured in psi (pounds per square inch), refers to the additional amount of air pressure that is forced into the air intake of the engine to overcome the vacuum force that is naturally created by the engine's air intake. By creating boost, the supercharger forces a denser fuel/air charge into the engine's combustion chamber, which creates more horsepower.
However, in order to realize the benefit of increased performance provided by the supercharger, the operation of the supercharger must be properly integrated with the vehicle onboard computer system, which electronically controls the operation of the vehicle engine. By way of background, vehicle engine operating parameters, such as fuel injector on/off duration, electronic fuel pump output, and electronic ignition timing, are typically controlled by a program stored in a memory device, such as an erasable-programmable-read-only-memory (EPROM) device, flash memory device, and the like, in the vehicle onboard computer system.
In a conventional supercharger system, the operation of the supercharger may be integrated with the operation of the vehicle onboard computer system by storing a new program into the EPROM device. However, when the vehicle requires servicing, a service shop may rescan the vehicle onboard computer system and restore it to original equipment manufacturer (OEM) specifications. As a result, the supercharger system may not operate properly when the customer receives the vehicle from the service shop. In that case, the customer would have to suffer the inconvenience of having the EPROM device in the onboard computer system re-programmed by the provider of the supercharger system.
Thus, there is an intense need for supercharger systems that can effectively integrate with a vehicle onboard computer system.